Iomega has restructured its Ioclub channel partner programme to benefit all members -not only those in high-volume markets.
"The old points system did not work well for resellers in lower-volume markets like SA, so we have redesigned the programme and added online marketing, sales and technical support," says Romain Cholat, Iomega's international VP for sales and marketing.
Ioclub members now have access to customisable marketing materials online, as well as case studies, white papers, e-mail templates, banners and flash demos.
The new online services include online training and certification. These courses are designed to give resellers competitive advantage by providing training on the advanced features of Iomega's products. Courses can be downloaded and used offline.
However, Cholat says he expects the biggest Ioclub benefit to be the new replacement services for faulty products. "If a product fails for some reason, an important consideration for resellers and customers is how fast a replacement can be delivered," he says. Enabling Ioclub members to apply online and have a replacement sent to them directly before the faulty product is returned, will speed up the process significantly. It will also avoid the complicated process involved if resellers need to source replacements from distributors, he says.
Cholat says the new channel partner programme is specifically aimed at increasing business with partners in the fast-growing small and medium enterprise market.
"Ioclub will be an effective way of driving Iomega's planned data management services into this market segment," he says.
Iomega is hoping to expand its share of the small business market by bundling third-party software and data management services with its hardware for storage and backup.
Bobby Kennedy, key account manager of Iomega in SA, says the planned services will be ideal for small businesses because they will be provided on a subscription basis, and will require little or no capital investment.
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